January 29 Race for the Hodge Trophy Update
This March, WIN Magazine, Culture House and ASICS will announce the winner of the prestigious 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy that will be presented to the nation’s top NCAA Division I wrestler, following the March 20-22 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia.
Between now and then, WIN Magazine will provide a weekly update, every Tuesday, at WIN-Magazine.com on this year’s race for the coveted trophy, which was created in 1994 by former WIN publisher Mike Chapman and named after Dan Hodge, the late three-time NCAA champion (1955-57) from the University of Oklahoma.
In addition to former Hodge Trophy winners, a retired coach from each region, and national media members, wrestling fans can once again be part of the voting as well. Shortly after the NCAAs, fans will be able to vote online at WIN-Magazine.com with the winner earning five first-place votes.
The criteria for winning the award are record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship.
Statistical Look at Notable 2025 Hodge Trophy Candidates
The following list shows wrestlers ranked within the top 10 (as of WIN’s Jan. 27 rankings) who are currently undefeated.
The list also includes how many pins (P), tech falls (TF), major decisions (MD) and Forfeits/Defaults (F/Def) each wrestler has through Jan. 27.
The final column shows the percentage of matches in which they’ve scored bonus points.
| Name | School | Year | W-L | Pins | TF | MD | F/Def | Bonus % |
125 pounds
| Matt Ramos | Purdue | Sr. | 20-0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 75.0% |
141 pounds
| Jesse Mendez | Ohio State | Jr. | 19-0 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 80.0% |
| Andrew Alirez | Northern Colorado | Sr. | 7-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 85.7% |
| Beau Bartlett | Penn State | Sr. | 12-0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 58.3% |
149 pounds
| Caleb Henson | Virginia Tech | Jr. | 12-0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 83.3% |
| Kyle Parco | Iowa | Sr. | 13-0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 53.9% |
| Chance Lamer | Cal Poly | Jr. | 10-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 50.0% |
157 pounds
| Tyler Kasak | Penn State | So. | 12-0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 58.3% |
| Ethen Miller | Maryland | Jr. | 16-0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 50.0% |
165 pounds
| Mitchell Mesenbrink | Penn State | So. | 13-0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 100% |
| Mike Caliendo | Iowa | Jr. | 13-0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 76.9% |
| Peyton Hall | West Virginia | Gr. | 21-0 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 58.3% |
174 pounds
| Keegan O’Toole | Missouri | Sr. | 11-0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 90.9% |
| Dean Hamiti | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 16-0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 81.3% |
| Carson Kharchla | Ohio State | Sr. | 8-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37.5% |
184 pounds
| Carter Starocci | Penn State | RSSr. | 12-0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| Parker Keckeisen | Northern Iowa | Sr. | 15-0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 87.5% |
| Max McEnelly | Minnesota | Fr. | 14-0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 85.7% |
| Gabe Arnold | Iowa | RSFr. | 11-0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 54.6% |
197 pounds
| Stephen Buchanan | Iowa | Sr. | 13-0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 84.6% |
| Jacob Cardenas | Michigan | Gr. | 13-0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 76.9% |
| AJ Ferrari | CSU Bakers-field | Jr. | 12-0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 84.6% |
| Josh Barr | Penn State | Fr. | 12-0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 91.7% |
Heavyweight
| Gable Steveson | Minnesota | Gr. | 7-0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Greg Kerkvliet | Penn State | RSSr. | 12-0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 91.7% |
| Wyatt Hendrickson | Oklahoma State | Sr. | 15-0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 86.7% |
| Owen Trephan | Lehigh | Jr. | 13-0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 84.6% |
Source: wrestlestat.com
All-Time Dan Hodge Trophy Winners
| Year | Name | School |
| 2024 | Aaron Brooks | Penn State |
| 2023 | Mason Parris | Michigan |
| 2022 | Gable Steveson | Minnesota |
| 2021 | Spencer Lee | Iowa |
| & | Gable Steveson | Minnesota |
| 2020 | Spencer Lee | Iowa |
| 2019 | Bo Nickal | Penn State |
| 2018 | Zain Retherford | Penn State |
| 2017 | Zain Retherford | Penn State |
| 2016 | Alex Dieringer | Oklahoma State |
| 2015 | Logan Stieber | Ohio State |
| 2014 | David Taylor | Penn State |
| 2013 | Kyle Dake | Cornell U. |
| 2012 | David Taylor | Penn State |
| 2011 | Jordan Burroughs | Nebraska |
| 2010 | Jayson Ness | Minnesota |
| 2009 | Jake Herbert | Northwestern |
| 2008 | Brent Metcalf | Iowa |
| 2007 | Ben Askren | Missouri |
| 2006 | Ben Askren | Missouri |
| 2005 | Steve Mocco | Oklahoma State |
| 2004 | Emmett Willson | Mont. State-Northern |
| 2003 | Eric Larkin | Arizona State |
| 2002 | Cael Sanderson | Iowa State |
| 2001 | Cael Sanderson | Iowa State |
| & | Nick Ackerman | Simpson College |
| 2000 | Cael Sanderson | Iowa State |
| 1999 | Stephen Neal | CSU Bakersfield |
| 1998 | Mark Ironside | Iowa |
| 1997 | Kerry McCoy | Penn State |
| 1996 | Les Gutches | Oregon State |
| 1995 | T.J. Jaworsky | North Carolina |
